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Only in some helicopters. More of a trivia term than anything engineers reference. Source: was a helicopter stress analyst for 7 years on military and civil models.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/4a/d0/d6/4ad0d68003a6d213e0a56f9b4... - CH-53K, No jesus nut

https://www.copters.com/mech/pictures/r22_head.jpg - R22, also none

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That first picture is absolutely fascinating. I knew that helicopters are complex, but wow.

I have heard that the rotor head on a ch-53 weighs more than an entire huey(uh-1).

update: I was unable to find any evidence for the rotor head story, but while looking I found this page full of -53 trivia and I wanted to share it.

https://sikorskyarchives.com/home/sikorsky-product-history/h...

I'd believe it. These things are huge. Also a single main rotor blade costs $500k.

Is this a "New v Old" thing or "cheap v expensive" thing? Or is it related to the task the helio is performing?

Mostly new vs. old. I'd guess that it's like Vietnam-era trivia for certain Bell models. I've never heard an engineer say "jesus nut" because it's just not a thing anymore.

Bell 206s, still used today, have retaining bolts. And while I don't know what the engineers call things, pilots certainly do call them Jesus nuts.

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